Glimpse of future
by hsakuragi283
Summary: harry gives hemione something which will help her find her love by looking into the future life with them in her dreams. various characters paired with hermione. harry wont come into picture untill later. this fic is hhr and remain hhr only, first fic so please be considerate, will take the ideas for failed pairing
1. Chapter 1

GLIMPSE IN THE FUTURE

Chapter one

Hermione POV

It has been months since the end of second war or battle at Hogwarts as wizarding folks have been calling it. To those celebrating the fall of dark lord Voldemort it was celebration of a new life without fear of dark ages but to us who faught to end the war it was far more sinister . Cause we were the ones to see our loved ones fight alongside us and fall to the death.

This war taught me this though, that I was not fighting for the many unknown faces who were expecting For a teenager to win war for them Nor was I fighting because I knew it to be right thing to do. No I was Fighting because I wanted to protect the people fighting alongside me . Only they mattered, because they were doing the same for me . One more thing for I was fighting for was a look of complete peace on face of my best friend harry potter.

Harry has been my rock since I felt like I was drifting apart from my parents because of being a witch. Not that we never have our arguments or differences but we always understood each other and forgave our mistakes. Sometimes it felt like he just takes me for granted and does not appreciate me as much as he does ron and his family but all the fears washed away the night ron abandoned us on our mission. When he asked me to dance with him, he tried everything to make me feel better and at the end of the song when I looked into his eyes all I could see was his need for me ,desperation and tiny bit of hope that I will be there always.

At that moment I understood that even if he does not show it very often Harry potter needs me as much as I need him. In fact he was the one who found my parents and brought them to me . apparently I did not oblivate them but snape modified my memory to make me think that and my parents went into the hiding on their own free will. Snape gave his memories of the incident to harry and after the war ended he brought them to me. For that harry got my famous bone crushing hug and kiss on both cheeks.

Yes ,life is good now. Ron and I became couple but we are still finding ourselves. Harry and ginny never got back together .she said she fell out of love with harry. I wonder how that happens. Harry says he does not mind. He spends most of his time to know other students of Hogwarts so that they know who harry really is and don't believe the rumors about him being next dark lord begin circulating next time

Few nights backs I woke up in middle of the night screaming . Ron was the first to come in my room and hold me trying to soothe me. Harry was standing beside the bed. I told them it was just a nightmare. I was the most affected by these things because of my encounter with bellatrix . they went back to their room after making sure I was ok. In the morning when I went down for breakfast harry was not there. When I asked she told me that he had to go to gringotts for some paperwork and was meeting luna for lunch. That caught my attention, I knew harry was close to luna but how close I was not sure. In the end I stomped my uneasiness and decided to ask harry when he came back.

When harry returned in the evening he told us goblins fined him for breaking into the bang as well as charged for damage done but ministry was going to pay some of it due to his part in war. Harry did not care either way he was well off

At night when I was getting ready for bed there was knock on my door. I thought it was ron for his goodnight kiss but was surprised to find harry.

"sorry to bother you so late Hermione but I wanted to give you something" harry said.

I could see he was nervous so to put him at ease I smiled and said " not to worry harry. It's not as if I am doing something important and I love free gifts".

He laughted a little and gave me a small package. When I opened those were emerald earrings. I looked at him questions in my eyes.

"those belonged to my mother…." He wanted to say more but I cut him off "harry I cant accept this. It belonged to your mother and you should give it to someone you love"

"But I am giving it to someone I love. i mean care about you a lot Hermione and no one can replace you in my life. But that's not the only reason my mum charmed them in her newt year for extra credit and to help her rest. When you put them on and sleep you will have pleasant dreams and don't have to worry about nightmares" harry finished with a smile

" oh harry that's so sweet of you, thank you. I will take good care of them. But where did you find them ?" I asked.

"luna found them. When we were at gringotts" harry replied.

There again luna , I wonder what's going on between those two. But I don't want to foil my good mood so we bid each other good night and went to bed wearing the earrings.

I was sleeping very peacefully. Bed felt very soft and fluffy. Then I heard a woman's voice calling me

" Hermione ,wake up dear " it kept calling.

Finally I woke up and looked for the source of voice. It was very beautiful red haired ,green eyed witch whom I recognized from the tattered photograph harry keeps with him. But she looked very young only seventeen or eighteen

" but you are dead. How can this be? Where am ?" I started firing questions. When I stopped to breath she laughted a little and said

"slow down Hermione. I wll answer everything. Yes I may be dead in your world but here I am not. As for how , tell me Hermione have you seen magical portraits of hedmasters in Hogwarts."

"yes" I answered hesitantly trying to piece everything I knew of portraits together to make sense of current the woman didn't gave me chance she started explaining again

"You see the portraits are nothing but memories of the witch or wizard until the time when portrait is made and these memories get updated until wizard or witch is alive. I was fascinated by them but they were very expensive so I couldn't have my portrait so I found alternative. Cheap things have their limitations. You could only use my wisdom" at this point she stood very proudly with nose in air looking female version of malfoy and I couldn't help but laugh and she soon joined me when the laughter subsided she continued

"you can only use it when you are sleeping. You can share your problems with me and I will help you based on my experiences. Also it's a dream maker like you are teenage girl and us brainy witches are very experimentive so you can choose a guy and I will show you the future you have with him.."

"excuse me Mrs potter but I am not very big fan of divination" I told her.

"Neither am I dear but those wont be true visions those will be movies which are based on your memories and some facts that you are not ready to face ,facts you know to be true but are too stubborn to accept. Those will be possible outcome with permutation combination of every result." She explained . and I could see logic in that.

While I was thinking she started talking again "so are you in for a ride"

After some thinking I replied "oh what the hell it's just dream, better than nightmare at least" and I want to know what future is there for ron and me

"so who is the first contender for heart of beautiful miss granger?"

"Ronald weasely" I answered.

She nodded and said "now you just have to go back to sleep and your dream will start. it will put you in time when you wont have to dig much to find whats happening in your life. If there are any doubts just go to library and read "Hogwarts:A history" there will be answers. Dream will end you want it to."

I closed my eyes and heard a familiar voice say

"goodnight Hermione, sweet dreams"

Before I could try to figure it out I was welcomed in darkness….


	2. Chapter 2

Authors Note : Sorry for yhe delay guys but it's festive season in India and had been very busy with studies and Diwali. So here is the next chapter. I was hoping not to bash any character and give logical reasoning for pairing to fail. Hope it goes right

CHAPTER 2

I groaned as rays of light hit my eyes. There was chirping sound of birds confirming to my horror that it was indeed morning. I didn't want to get up because this was the best and most peaceful sleep i had in many months. But while i was thinking of not admitting that it was morning and trying sleep again my overactive mind picked up something, i was not alone on my bed which strangely enough does not feel like my bed either.

War against voldemort had toughened all of us but there were still some deatheaters who managed to escape. And silent attacks were not ruled out so when i was unable to locate my wand on table beside the bed (which was different in case you have not figured it out) i decided on only sensible thing a war hero like me would do.

I screamed bloody murder , picked up the lamp on table and began bashing whoever was under the cover. Quite proud of myself for not being afraid even a little, i kept up my assault, ignoring the familiar voice calling my name.

Wait did i say familiar, cursing myself for being so rash i stopped banging the lamp on the crumpled mass under the cover.

There was red hair peeking from under the covers taunting me with obvious answer. It all came rushing to me. Earrings to avoid nightmares gifted by harry, meeting Mrs. Potter and her offer to show me future, well not exactly future only possibility of future , and finally RON.

I bashed his head again hoping he would get amnesia and would forget about me hitting him. Alas no such luck, Ron being physically stronger than me flipped me and pinned me down with my hands above my head.

"What the hell Hermione, have you lost it? Why are you hitting me like that." Ron asked little annoyed.

I was looking around trying to find reason to believe in existence of god and hoping there will be miracle and i will still be alive after Ron was done with me. But when I looked at him feeling a bit scared, his expression softened and he asked "Did you have another nightmare?"

I grabbed the opportunity to gain sympathy and nodded. He released me and gathered me in his arms. I immediately calmed down ,Ron's familiar scent soothing me. After a while he released me and went to closet saying something about preparing for the day and went out of the door. I was a little disappointed at his lack of attention, but then again Ron was never the one with words and display of affection.

After Ron was gone i took my time to analyze the situation. I frowned when it was clear that we were at burrow. If i have to guess the timeline, we were maybe thirty two or something then why were we at Weasely home. Shouldn't we be at our own apartment. I thought to gather more information and observed that there seemed to be more of our stuff here confirming my previous thoughts that we actually lived here.

For the love of merlin I could not figure it out. I looked around room it was covered in various chudely cannon merchandise but in the corner there was also a book case overflowing with books. I smiled at that , appreciating it. There were many pictures with me and Ron in it. Interestingly there wasn't any pictures of harry. Harry was missing from even our wedding photo. Something was not right and i was determined to find out. While I was lost in my thoughts Ron returned and took me in arms from behind and kissed me on cheek

"I have to go early today. George said he needed more help in shop, it is hogsmede weekend at Hogwarts. Will you be alright?" Ron asked and i nodded in reply. He was out of the door before i could ask anything.

This bothered me very much Ron was not even a little bit concerned that from the moment we woke up I haven't said a single word. People always said we fought like old married couple but that was because we had our different opinions. That was one of the things I liked about Ron he always used to make his opinion known even when there was a possibility of him being wrong , it was the fact that he was willing to fight for the things he believed in. But now he was almost silent , I felt like there was some tension between us, and I wanted to know the cause of it.

I quickly took care of my business and went down to the kitchen where I was greeted by the familiar sight of Mrs. Weasely preparing breakfast. After saying good morning Mrs. Weasely gave me my breakfast.

" Did Ron ate breakfast ?" I asked trying to get rid of uncomfortable silence and to figure the situation out.

"No dear, he said he will eat with George." Molly replied. From her face I could tell she wanted to say something but stopped herself . so I asked "is there something you wanted to say Molly?"

" I heard you and Ron yelling at each other last night. Is everything all right" she asked.

Oh ,so that's why he was so quite. We had a fight. But what about? Should not be any major if we were sleeping on same bed. So I answered accordingly " Nothing too serious just a minor disagreement on something. I hope we did not disturbed you."

" No, not at all dear. I was just wondering." She sighed . there was this sadness in her eyes similar to when Harry told her that Ginny and him are not getting back together. I was confused has anything dreadful happened. Before I could open my mouth she started talking again "Hermione, people say that a mother can not love one of her child less than another but I want to realize that Ron is my most precious son. Before Ginny born , Ron was the baby of the house. Me and his father loved him even more than our first. Because of troubles twins came with Ron was relatively good boy so he pampered him in every way we could afford." Here she stopped to take breath with a wistful look in her eyes no doubt remembering fond moments of Ron's childhood .

"But then Ginny came , and we did the mistake every parent does with arrival of second child, we ignored the jealousy he felt towards new baby. We gave more attention to girl we always wanted . My other children knew our poor condition and strived to become better but for Ron we gave him most of the things and he didn't even had to work . By the time he was ready to go Hogwarts ,damage was done and we didn't get much time with him to correct our mistakes."

"Over the time Ron became friend to you, and I always wonder what would have happened had you not accepted to help him even with his attitude. I always knew if anyone can change Ron to be a better man it would be you. And I just want to tell you that even with all his faults, Ron really loves you, and always will." With that Molly left the kitchen and tears running through her eyes.

I was both enlightened and confused. Enlightened because that explained lot of wrong moves Ron made. Like triawizard tournament he thought if he could enter it he would gain his parents approval and respect of his siblings. And when Harry got in, twins made a show of how proud they were of harry. Which fueled his anger. My reluctance to accompany him to yuleball and on horcrux hunt was considered as rejection and abandonment . Yes I could not make excuses for his behavior but someone has to tell him how wrong it was to behave that way and make him face his fears. And I was just the girl…um.. women.

I was curious to know why Molly seemed to tell me all this. Was our fighting that serious. Was there anything I had to worry about. Then I remembered that Mrs. Potter told me to find my answers in ' Hogwarts a history'. so I darted to my room and towards the book case. There in between many books was THE BOOK. It seemed to be first edition and I was excited but quickly disappointed when I opened it. It was blank, BLANK. How can this book be blank , it was supposed to give me information about this dream.

Then I remembered Tom Riddle's diary from second year. Harry had told me how it answered questions when you wrote in it. So I picked up quill and wrote my name

Hermione Granger

I waited for few minutes but nothing happened. Maybe it doesn't work that way. Or maybe….

Hermione Granger-Weasely

And after a few seconds words were visible on pages. But it was just basic information like we dated for five years before getting married at twenty four. Ron worked with George at his shop and I was in department of magical creature relations in ministry. It was department Minister Shacklebolt created after he knew the part played by elves, werewolves and centaurs in war.

There was also mention of period Ron worked as Auror and keeper for Chudely Cannons but only brief. For some reason it only stated mine and Ron's information, like book was taunting me and saying go find for yourself if you want anything more.

So I decided to get ready and head off to work maybe I will see Harry… AND my other friends there

To be continued


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

I quickly got ready but didn't know the way to ministry so I decided to use the guest entrance. As I entered the ministry I was shocked to find not only wizards and witches but various magical creatures like elves, and centaurs as well. Many of whom nodded to me. I guess I work with them daily. I tried not to give them any indication of my ignorance and nodded in return.

"Good morning Miss Hermione. You are a bit late today, any problem that I can help you with?" An ancient elf was standing behind me with a questioning look in his eyes. He was dressed in vibrant colors that only Dumbledore will think appropriate to wear but he was dressed in washed and clean clothes that caught my attention. It seems house elves are coming out of their shells. There was also nametag on his chest stating that he was representative of elves in ministry and his name was Ingrid.

"Nothing big Ingrid just didn't get much sleep last night and feeling tired. How are you?" I politely asked.

"I am as healthy as elf of my age can be. Should we proceed to the department together?" He asked me. Seeing as didn't know the way I nodded.

We went in lift together when he pushed the switch for fifth level. I was disappointed when we didn't encounter anyone on our way up. But that was okay, I was late and maybe everyone is already in their office. When we reached our destination Ingrid began walking in his cabins direction, and bid me farewell. His goodbye meant my office was in opposite direction. As I was walking I heard a Harry's name and out of character for me, I began eavesdropping.

"….if Potter was here we would have managed to pass this bill already, that guy had influence that even minister can't ignore." A manly deep voice.

"Yeah, damn weasely and her jealous husband. If not for them Potter would still be here." Said a second voice.

"It's not his fault you know. Harry and Hermione were pretty close. How would you feel if your wife spends more time with your best friend, to top it, there were rumors about those two from the school days." A woman's voice was saying.

"It's not like they were shagging or something. They were working pretty hard here and now we have lost half of our influence. She CHOSE to marry him for Merlin's sake" first voice replied.

My head was spinning from all that information. I quickly walked out of my hiding place and went towards my office which had my nameplate. As soon as I came out all the conversation stopped and they pretended to do their work. As I came in my office and locked door quickly and took a deep breath taking all the information with it and collapsed on floor. Ron's jealousy strikes again, we were at odds with each other. May that was what we were fighting last night. I must meet Harry, we have to clear this.

I called my secretary and was shocked to see none other than Lavender Brown. Then it came to me, she was bitten by Greyback in final battle. Seeing as she was werewolf herself this must have been her way to work for her rights. I told her to check if Harry was on work today, just to see if he was still working at ministry. She hesitated a bit and told me that I can find him in auror office. After a moment of hesitation she said

"Are you sure Hermione, what if Ron came along .it can get pretty nasty you know that." There was real worry in her eyes.

"I am quite sure Lavender. I need to do this. Anything else ?" I asked her.

"Yes you have meeting with your marriage councilor at 3, and don't forget to take your potion after lunch." She told me my schedule.

Marriage councilor, does that mean mine and Ron's problems were bigger than what I was making them? And what kind of potion? All this information was giving me headache. I decided to make a quick visit to harry and get it over with.

I didn't know why I was so nervous but for some reason my body was shaking and palms were sweating. Looks that all other aurors were giving me were not helping either. Maybe I was not very popular amongst them, everyone was shooting annoyed looks at me. Remembering that I was supposed to be Gryffindor I quickly knocked twice on door. There was voice of "come in."

As I opened the door and went in my senses were assaulted by familiar scent which screamed Harry and met by forest green eyes of my first best friend. He looked a bit shocked but collected himself quickly.

"I was unaware of our meeting being on today's schedule Mrs. Weasely. Is there any emergency?" He asked flatly.

I was shocked to hear how formal he sounded, like we just work together and nothing more. Now i was truly afraid. All my life harry had never talked to me like a stranger. Yes, we had our fights, but i was used to dealing with angry harry. Never was i faced with indifferent harry, and that scared me a lot.

" We need to talk harry." I said, directly coming to the point and not wanting to delay it any further.

"I have a very busy day, many things to do. And i can not lose any time arguing with you." He replied, dismissing me.

" More important things than our friendship?, after all these years of helping you that is all you think of me? Waste of your valuable time." I yelled at him. Not bothering that i was blackmailing him but i wanted some answers, and i was going to get them. I could have gone to ron but knowing him it would have been a biased version so harry was the only choice.

"Ron wont like you being here Hermione, and i dont want to give my staff a show."

" Ron does not dictate my life for me harry. I am my own person, and i wanna know why my best friend is not even my friend anymore."

"What' s there to tell, you must have heard what happened" he replied moodily.

"You know i was never a fan of rumors harry, and i want to hear your side of story firsthand so just humor me,will you. And start from the begining of what lead this to happen." I grabbed the opportunity to know everything that was happening.

"Well you know how Ron destroyed the locket and it showed you and me together right." I nodded so he continued while securing the door "Well it seems i failed to convince him that there was nothing between us. There was this fear within him which was boosted by the rumor mill and amount of time we spent together when i worked with you. It further increased when he exploded on our chief auror for berating about not following orders and was kicked out of ministry for lack of discipline. He blamed me for not standing up for him or stopping them from kicking him out." He looked a little sad here." You know I never liked using my fame for doing things and i honestly felt it was his fault they almost lost an auror because of his rash behaviour."

"He was already out of chudely cannon because of his nerves. I mean come on he was not good enough to play on school team until wood passed out and only made it to the team because i was the captain and his competitor had worse attitude than his. Tell me would i have selected him if he was not my best friend." There was bitterness in his voice. He stopped there and i thpught he was not going to say anymre when he spoke up

"Because you were the only one working, you had to move back to burow. And his inferiority complex started getting him and along with the jelousy thing we have what we call Ron. He started coming here at odd times and accusing us of goinng behind his back. In the end when we were working on this paid vacation bill for house elves, he storms into meeting full of official people and started going on and on about how i never his friend and always used him for my gains and neglected when i didn't need him anymore."his eyes were full of pain.

"Oh harry..." i didn' know what to say. Realisation hit me that just a few minutes before i said the same thing. I opened my mouth to say sorry but he cut me off.

"It's okay, i understand." His eyes were downcast." After that he made you chose between me me and him again. But this time choice was far greater than it had been before. You guys were gettiing married in few weeks and i didn't wanted you to suffer this and some fulish part of me wanted to lesssen the humiliation i would feel when when you chose him so i walked away from you guys. Changed depaartments and been working here since then." He stopped there, looking out of the window but not looking anything particularly.

Not knowing what to say or do i just sat there. What can i do? Ron was always like that but he came around, and when he did we accepted him back. But Ron never apologized directly. He always showed apology through actions. And I was not sure Harry wanted to leave it this time. It seemed our friendship which survived even Voldemort and a war was falling apart now.

"I didn't know what to do Hermione, I didn't want to force weasely's to make choice between me and their son, George still hasn't come out of his shell, Ginny blames me for the break up even when she was the one to break it up, Bill and Charlie are never in country and I don't want to give them further reasons to hate me because of your failed marriage. So here I am trying to create a life without all of you in it. It's damn hard, yes but I will succeed . I have to. It's the only option for me."

I was speechless. It seemed that we cannot mend our relationship until Ron accepts it. I got up and began walking towards door dizzily, when harry spoke up again.

"Hermione, I heard you were visiting marriage councilor today. Be careful and don't forget to take calming draught. It won't do any good for you to explode on him last time. Though I think that going on s daily dose of calming draught for controlling your blood pressure was not a good idea."

I nodded seeing in his eyes which were equally resigned to this situation as mine were. As I turned to leave again he called out again, this time I didn't turn. Not wanting him to see tears welling up in my eyes I just stopped giving him hint of having heard his call when he said in a whisper

"Try and work it out if possible, he needs you right now." And with that I ran

I did not return to my office, instead fled home. It was too much to take. I hadn't realized how much I needed Harry in my life. Whenever I would dream my future with Ron, Harry was always there. Without him none of my dreams would be complete. But now not having him with me was too painful. I wanted to wake up from this nightmare but didn't know how.

I kept trying to wake up but nothing was working. I tried pinching myself, took a cold bath but I was feeling those things like it was not a dream but reality. And dread filled my veins. What if it IS real?...

AN- I am finished with the Ron part guys. There will be one more chapter about explanation of Ron's behavior. I know there was not any actual confrontation with Ron but I think with Ron in scene there would have been only arguing and no decent explanation.

AN 2- I cant decide who should be next. So you are free to tell me who you want Hermione to be with next.


	4. Chapter 4

This was not happening.

How was I supposed to get up from this nightmare.

I was feeling dizzy, and my head was spinning . I just realized that it felt too real to be a dream. Harry may have been thinking about helping but I think that absolute git gave me something that really sent me to future.

I knew deep down that I was being unreasonable but didn't care at the moment. I wanted to go home to my friends. Where I was yet to make the worst choice of my life, which was going to cost me my best friend.

I was about to give up my efforts when I saw 'Hogwarts: A history' on floor. Page where I had written my name that morning was opened. A thought came to my mind and I corrected my name by crossing weasely

Hermione Granger-Weasely

Became

Hermione Granger

And before I knew it I was slipping in darkness again…..

When I opened my eyes again I was met by brightest forest green eyes which I had come to love. But after waking up fully I realized that those eyes were on body attached to pair of breasts and a red head. I deducted that I was still sleeping and was with Mrs. Potter now. She was smiling quite sheepishly at me. I was about to return her smile when I figured out something.

"You could have given me warning or something, I thought I was stuck there for rest of my life" I yelled at her.

"I am sorry. It just slipped my mind with all the excitement of having you here. And before I realized my mistake you were dreaming and once you start dreaming only you can end it or if someone wakes you up in real world." She replied looking down embarrassed.

I was still annoyed at her but gave up. No one was hurt and it was a genuine mistake.

"So why am I here and not woken up in real world?" I asked trying to change the subject and I was curious as well.

"Your dream ended pretty quickly and I wanted to tell you everything about dreamland so you don't have any misunderstandings or questions for next time" she replied sitting next to me.

That seemed logical because I knew if had woken up in real world then those earrings were not going to be used for along time. I was still not sure about coming here again.

"Okay, tell me how to end the dream first. I mean I used my book this time but it can't be standard procedure is it? There must some that must be done to end it in the absence of book?" I asked wanting to get the escape plan first.

"Yes, you are right as usual. For dream to end there must be some physical acceptance by you that it is not shaping up to the dream you wanted. Like you can take off your wedding ring if you are married, burn a photo or the thing you just did, accepting your maiden name back." She explained to me.

At her words I remembered what I had done just now and became sad. She sensed my mood to asked me to tell her what I was feeling with her eyes.

"It's just that…. I mean… me and Ron that is how I always dreamed. And now… I am not sure anymore. Part of me want to believe in Ron that he won't be like that but rational part says that there is a high possibility of this becoming reality." My lips were moving but I didn't know what to say. We were both silent for awhile when she started speaking.

"Hermione, Ron loves you very much and I am sure you love him as well but relationships don't survive on love only. Ron is from a family where all his siblings excel at something and I can tell you that having a brother or sister who is better than you, can hurt your pride very much if you let it. Ron had to go through that five times.

People will argue that his other siblings are nothing like him and I accept fact that they are not. But why do you think twins didn't take their studies seriously because they knew it was hard to take one up to likes of Bill, Charlie and Percy but they used their brain to do something productive where as Ron used it to belittle himself and self pity. He has a huge case of inferiority complex and every time you try to correct him he will take it as personal insult.

Add to the fact that Dumbledore gave him Prefect batch without him even trying for it, you helped him get place in Quidditch team when he wasn't ready and could not control his nerves, you helped him do his homework. All those things made him subconsciously dependent on you guys and he didn't even had to try for his greatest desires which increased his laziness." she stopped when I began defending Ron

"Ron is very good keeper, he proved himself in sixth year. And as for helping with studies, I helped harry too, I don't see you complaining about that." Well that was a low blow but I had say something to save myself.

She smiled a little and asked me "tell me hermione if you had not helped them. What would have happened."

I knew she had trapped me. If I had not helped them then they would have studied by themselves. No matter how lazy they were, harry and ron were not careless.

"It's not your fault actually, your insecurities about being friendless led to you to know more and ultimately them turning to you everytime a problem arose. Even if the solution was within their reach."

I grudgingly accepted truth in her statement and seeing my acceptance she continued

"You see he will become what you experienced in your dream unless you guys change your attitute towards him and stop cutting him slack. Whenever he made mistake you guys accepted him readily and he never realised how big mistake it could have turned out to be in different circumstances.

"I am not saying you should not forgive him but i want to tell you to at least let him realise that he was wrong and help him accept it."

She was right actually. When i look back in first year i could have died at the hands of troll had Harry and Ron not came for me. In fourth year people didn't trust Harry when he said that he didnt put his name in goblet but their mistrust amplified and backed by the fact that even his best friend believed that he put his name in goblet. When we were searching for horcrux he left us and that could have been dangerous for whole mission. Even if Ron would not have given information willingly there were other methods to gain it if he had been caught. All the situations when Ron had shown his hothead tendencies it could have been fatal.

"So what should I do now, I can't leave him so suddenly." I said panicking.

"That is entirely your choice Hermione. You can stay with Ron and try and change him but think about it if he takes advice from his best friend so harshly, how would he take it when it is coming from his wife or fiancé."

When I thought about it I realized that we were fighting less lately because I was not bothering him much. As the old saying goes love is blind so I was ignoring his attitude more now because I wanted to work things between us. And if I had advised him something I am sure his male ego will surface newly. Also he was not considerate towards my feelings as much. Which he had shown in sixth year by sucking Lavenders face. I was resigned to my fate I knew what I had to do but….

"Weasely's will hate me and harry as well." I said

"Harry will respect your decision. And Weasely's will come around eventually. And even if they don't, is suffering what you felt in dream just now worth their approval?" She said wisely.

"No it's not. I must break up with Ron. I will help him by being his friend" I said determined.

"Maybe you should find a girl who will help him develop his good habits. The one who will let him be himself and still keep him on ground. I will suggest Hannah Abbot, she is smart and mild mannered try giving him a push and see where things go."

"Thank you Mrs. Potter." I smiled at her.

"Oh, you can call me Lily, now we are friends aren't we?" I nodded and she continued "Now you should go back to sleep and you will wake up in your real world.

"Thank you Lily." I replied and laid on my back on bed and was engulfed in darkness…


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer- I don't own Harry potter or anything in Hp universe

CHAPTER 5

Hermione pov

It had been days since I came back from the dreamscape but I was apprehensive about just go and break up with Ron. Even with all his faults I knew that Ron loved me. And he hadn't given me reason to be mad at him recently. So after much arguing with myself I had decided to give him a final chance.

Being the practical person I was, I wanted to confirm my escape plan and choices if it came to break up. So here I was standing by the lake looking for the only other person who stood by me in everything. Harry Potter.

It was weekend and classes had gone smoothly. I hadn't brought my problems to Harry because I wanted to have long and undisturbed chat with him. But now that I look back, I was just trying to avoid bringing it up.

Though we were in same house and shared almost all classes I rarely saw him properly saw him past week. He was always surrounded by people who were smitten by Man-who-conquered. He was sitting with Lavender or Parvati, and spent most of his time hanging with Luna.

Before all this Ron, I and Harry were always together. You just had to find one of us and get all three. It was a shame that now I didn't even know where my best friend was. Ron didn't seem too bothered by this and was enjoying company of his own admirers.

After hours of searching for Harry I was walking towards Hagrids hut, which was my last stop before I went back to castle to have lunch. He was still teaching 'care of magical creatures' but had mellowed down on dangerous creatures a bit after death of professor Dumbledore. McGonagall didn't have influence like him to convince new board of governors of school.

When I reached Hagrid's hut I was disappointed to see the door locked and was about to turn back when I heard voices coming from way to forbidden forest. It was Harry but he was not alone. He was walking beside dreamy looking Luna and meek looking Lavender. It looked like they were having fun and Harry was smiling at something Luna had said. Even if they were covered in dirt and blood, Harry was happy. I felt a little jealous looking at them, and remembering all the happy moments of us as Golden Trio.

I was about to hide when Luna saw me and waved her hand. I was busted and therefore plastered an overly cheery smile on face and waved in return. When they were close enough, Harry asked me with a smile.

"Hey, how are you Hermione? And what are you doing here? If you are waiting for Hagrid, he won't return for a while. Preparing for the lesson with thestrals for fifth years." He was going mile per minute like a child on sugar high. This proved that he was very excited.

"I am fine Harry. I was looking for you actually. Wanted to talk to you." I replied looking around, hoping that two girls will take a hint and leave us alone. Luna stood there unfazed as usual and Lavender began to get nervous under my gaze.

"I will go ahead Harry; want to wash off this ferret blood off me as soon as possible."Lavender said finally and took Luna along with her, understanding that I wanted to talk to Harry alone. But before she turned to leave Luna came up to Harry and kissed on his cheek.

"Goodbye Harry Potter. I had fun." Luna said.

"Same here Luna. I will see you tonight." a blushing Harry replied.

When they were gone I couldn't help but ask

"What was that about?" I tried and failed to sound less annoyed than I actually was.

"Oh! We were helping Hagrid with the creatures. I had nothing better to do and thought about meeting him. Lavender was just sitting there in common room so I asked her to join me and Luna was there already." He replied not catching drift of my question.

"I got that Harry. I meant the kiss and meeting at night part." I asked calmly.

"Well… you see… Luna thinks I am not good at interacting with people and should be comfortable with human touch. And its Luna we are talking about, she came up with this way to make me comfortable. As for the night part, Luna can play flute and was going to show us how giant squid reacts to music. So we are meeting tonight." He replied trying to control his blush.

I remembered all the times Harry would flinch away when we would hug him and some part of me was happy that Luna was helping him with that aspect of his life. But the other part was screaming with jealousy. 'It was my job. I was supposed to be there for him….And for Ron.

"Why didn't you come for me and Ron? We would have been happy to see Hagrid. In fact we would like to see you too. We haven't spoken for days Harry."I said trying to control my anger.

"I thought you and Ron would like to be left alone now that you guys are couple and all. And I didn't want to feel like a third wheel with you." Harry replied with a flat tone but I could see underlining bitterness.

"So you go and spend time with Lavender and Luna. Honestly Harry I think you can do better than that." I snapped at him but immediately regretted when I saw expression on his face.

"You know, you sounded just like Malfoy for a second there. Just like him you are seeing people lower than you." He said quite disappointed." it's like even after winning the war against prejudice we still haven't eliminated it completely because we have become part of it."

"That's not what I mean and you know it Harry. Don't twist my words against me." I said losing my patience.

"But subconsciously you believe them to be beneath you. Because Lavender does not apply herself in studies and Luna believes things that are not mentioned in books." He said giving me a sad smile.

"Well that is because they waste their time on petty things like fashion and clothes or in Luna's case imaginary creatures." I replied defending myself.

"Evolution was not caused by the beings who followed rules Hermione it was caused by the ones who had mind to break them. World does not change by the ones who read book's it changes because of the ones who have the guts to write them." Harry said with so much conviction that I was speechless.

"Einstein was considered a loon until his theories were proven. I am not saying that you believe everything that Luna says just keep open mind about it. Who knows they might exist. And Lavender is actually good at clothes altering charms and has a great sense of fashion. She might become famous in that field." He stopped seeing the hurt expression on my face.

"I am not mad or anything at you Hermione because for past six years I have been doing the same mistake and want to change it. I am mad at myself for belittling them. They have different interest than us does not mean they are stupid. It just means that they are brilliant something that we are idiots at." He said looking down

"I guess, never thought about it that way. I had to apologize to her." I replied realizing my mistake.

"I never expected anything less from you Hermione. Lavender has not been same since the battle when Greyback bit her. Her confidence took a huge blow and with her father's death it became harder for her. I just wanted to help her." Harry said giving me a small smile.

"I know Harry. And I want to let you know that I am with you."I said and he nodded in reply

"Why were you looking for me and where is Ron?" He asked and brought up the question I was dreading very much.

I took a deep breath and said

"You see Harry I don't think it's working out between me and Ron"

"What do you mean; I thought you guys were going great?" He asked confused.

"No Harry we are holding back our personalities for sake of this relationship to work. I don't say that it is overly bad thing but I think I should not feel cautious about what I say around a man I want to spend rest of my life with. I should be able to talk to him without fear of fight and should be able to have a sane argument. But that is not happening and I don't think that is healthy for our relationship."

"Ron is a great guy but has many faults of his own. And though we have been friends for long time I think we are not compatible for each other."I finished when I saw thoughtful expression on his face.

"So what do you want to do now?" He asked giving me a questioning look.

"I think I am going to break up with him. But I don't want to lose him as friend. I know Weasely's will be mad at me as well. I just wanted to know what you think about it." I replied sadly looking down and was shocked when he hugged me and whispered

"I will always stand by your side Hermione. If you doubt your relationship this early, it is better to break up before it becomes hard. And I don't want you to let anything else but your happiness to influence any decision you make."

I smiled at that and knew that I will make it through this. I just stood in his arms enjoying every bit of it when moment was ruined by sound of his stomach signaling that he needed food.

"Now that I have saved yet another day let's get something to eat. I am starving." He said giving me a lopsided grin.

I pushed him away playfully and said "Boys. That's all you think don't you sleeping and eating."

"That's me. Mr. Charming. Come on now before I die of starvation." He said grinning

Harry and I began walking towards the castle. Not sure that life will be good but sure that we will not be alone.


End file.
